What is to Come
by Jena
Summary: About the last knight before Alanna, not finished yet...(update, I put didn't finish it yet, but I DID make it easier to read, and edited it a bit!
1. Info

What is to Come  
  
Info: About the last Lady Knight before Alanna. A little sad, but it's the last Lady Knight!!! Of course it's a lil sad. Not completed yet.  
  
  
  
Ch.1  
  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah… who really cares?"  
  
"I do, my dear Mirala."  
  
"Don't call me 'dear' Wesley, I don't like it."  
  
"Sorry… sweets."  
  
"Wesley, I'm not your wife or anything, so just shut up."  
  
Wesley grinned crookedly at her, a lady knight. Which was spectacular unto itself since lady knights were getting few and far between these days. It was mostly because of how rapidly Tortall was growing. Just centuries ago it was a small, rural land, but it had grown fast and was now one of the largest and renown countries in the world. And thus lady knights had lost much of it's appeal, considering the fact that Tortall was the only place that had them. Other countries looked down upon Tortall for these peculiarities, so Tortall turned to be more like others, and get rid of such strangness's.  
  
Mirala was actually the last lady knight to be knighted in over a year. Which showed how much they were dying away. There was a time when 100 or so would be knighted every year. Mirala didn't seem to care though. She was content in adventuring about, and laughing at people who were in awe of her. Most people couldn't fathom how a woman could survive a knight's life.  
  
But at the moment, Mirala was faced with something she could hardly survive: studying. Wesley and she were in the palace library, searching in novels for information about the Doi tribesmen. King Jonathon I (the Jon in the TP books is the IV) and his Queen Isabella had requested Mirala and Wesley go make peace treaties with the Doi, who weren't very violent as tribesmen go, but were powerful. Since not much was known about their ways, this particular journey required study before they set off.  
  
Mirala hated study; it was her worst subject as a page, her best being sword and hand fighting. So naturally, she was a fighter and had a very direct personality. Wesley was a knight also, but got around to things in a subtler manner. He was always stopping Mirala from speaking out at the wrong times, he was sense and she was force. Which might have explained why they were lovers at one time. But now life had gotten hard, and they became, simply, friends, and many times companions.  
  
Wesley turned the big volume called "Tribes in the Eastern Lands" over to Mirala. Mirala groaned, "Alright, haven't we filled our heads up enough, what more could we possibly learn about the Doi? We basically know their whole way of life by now."  
  
Shaking his head, Wesley replied, "There's always more to learn Miral." 


	2. Setting Off

What is to Come  
  
C: Forgot to say I don't own Tortall, or the Eastern Lands, or the Doi! But I do own the characters!!! Yay!!!  
  
  
  
Ch.2  
  
Kreten had his Knight Master's saddlebags packed and waiting when Wesley and Mirala arrived in the stable the morning after. Mirala was exhausted, while Wesley was happy and chipper as he told his Squire Kreten to bring Mirala's horse around. Mirala just growled at her horse…and Wesley.  
  
"Come, come my dear. You wanted to be off soon."  
  
Mirala got one her horse resignedly. "Don't. Call. Me. Dear." She growled.  
  
"Yes dearest." He smiled at her from his own horse, and before she could reply, took off.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The day was extremely hot and humid, and it didn't help much that they were in the middle of the Great Southern Desert. Wisps of Mirala's long black hair kept falling across her face.  
  
"I'll never understand why you don't just cut it, it'd save you a lot of trouble." Wesley laughed as she blew a strand of hair away. Mirala looked down at her waist length hair, bound in one long braid and sighed.  
  
"I suppose its reminds people I'm a woman."  
  
Wesley snorted, "Of course you're a woman, how could anyone forget, you tell at least 3 people every day."  
  
Mirala just glared at him with her sapphire blue eyes. Wesley stared calmly back at her with his hazel ones.  
  
"Besides," Wesley continued, "You're too beautiful to be regarded as a man, no matter how knightly you get."  
  
Tired of this conversation, she just smiled and turned away.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
A couple nights later they camped 3 miles from the Southern Wall, where the Doi tribesmen lived. They were looking for a particular tribe in particular: the Eagle Eye. The Eagle Eye tribe was known to possess some of the greatest seers in all the Eastern Lands. They were also the largest tribe, and if they made peace with them, other Doi tribes might make peace as well.  
  
It was Mirala's turn to cook. She was horrible at it; she didn't have an ounce of patience. The food was always either uncooked or burnt.  
  
Tonight I'll do it right. She thought as she glanced at Wesley. His light brown hair fell across one of his eyes as he read "Doi-People of the Sight". His long neck curved over the book as his hazel eyes flashed across the pages. From here Mirala could almost see the specks of green in his slightly slanting eyes. He was handsome after all; she couldn't help but think so. And he was nice, thoughtful, teasing sometimes, but a great kisser… among other things.  
  
Mirala shook her head as Kreten yelped and jumped up at the soup, which was boiling over. Wesley looked up from his book at Mirala. Mirala gave him a "look" and got up to help Kreten.  
  
She couldn't think about him, she'd given him up a long time ago. Lady knights rarely took husbands, but many lovers came and went. Wesley had just been her lover… for a while. Nothing more… 


	3. Sound of War

What is to Come  
  
C: Yay! Finally the 3rd Chapter!!!! It has a cliffhanger! Whoo! Hope it's otay.  
  
Ch.3  
  
The next day Mirala woke up feeling refreshed, and in a better mood. Kreten was packing the remants of last night's dinner. Wesley was preparing his horse, having already prepared hers.  
  
"Wesley," Mirala said, as she folded up her blankets "I usually groom my horse on my own. I am a knight you know." Wesley looked at her calmly and patiently," Yes you are, and a good one too. But if I hadn't done it, you'd be complaining about how late we'd be, because no one had taken the time to help you pack." Mirala glared at him and quietly tossed her blankets into her saddlebags.  
  
He just knows me too well.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The Eagle Eye tribe were supposed to live in caverns and crevices along the southern wall, but they hadn't seen any so far. They'd been riding along the Wall for hours now, and Mirala was getting bored. She needed some action.  
  
"Wesley?" she asked. Wesley looked up from searching the rocks face. "Hmmm?"  
  
"Don't you think this is, I don't know. Kind of pointless?"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"I mean, don't you think we should just leave Kreten behind with the horses and look for them on foot? It'd be a lot faster that just looking around from atop a horse."  
  
Wesley gave her a searching look, but then nodded and jumped down from his horse, directing Kreten to take them both as Mira jumped down from her horse.  
  
They made their way to the brush beside the Wall and attempted to climb through. Finally, they made it, and stumbled upon a crack in the mountain, with a narrow path twisting out of site between the two hovering cliffs.  
  
After about an hour of making their way over small boulders and rocks, Wesley stopped abruptly and narrowed his eyebrows, "I have a feeling." he murmered.  
  
Mirala snorted and replyed, "What's that supposed to mean? Your no mage." After looking at him some more and seeing that he wasn't just joking, she asked softly, "Why so cryptic looking. what is it?"  
  
"Can't you feel it?" he said, still looking ahead. Mirala was about to reply with a skeptical no when he suddenly asked, "Do you have your sword?"  
  
"Of, of course, I always bring it with me, you know that. A knight's always prepared and. such." She droned off as Wesley started to mumble under his breath and walk forward.  
  
"Wait! Wesley, what is it? Tell me!"  
  
"Can't you sense it?"  
  
"Augh, no! Like I said before I-"  
  
"It's war."  
  
Mirala stopped dead in her tracks, letting Wesley stumble ahead of her through the stones. She quietly listened to the air, there was something. Something odd. And a smell. It was strange, yet familiar.  
  
Coming back to her senses she ran after Wesley, it seemed like they were running for days until they came to the end of the path, it looked out upon a wide valley. But it wasn't empty, or full of Doi tents. It was filled with warriors.  
  
Blood, she thought, the smell was blood. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 


End file.
